Puddle Jumping in DCtag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-5179352010-02-07T06:28:12-05:00A Washington DC mom, novice yogi, environmentalist, writer, editor, and communications professional, Jen blogs her observations on being engaged and staying present.TypePadPuddleJumpingInDchttp://feedburner.google.comSnowmageddon 2010tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c638753ef0128777136b2970c2010-02-07T06:28:12-05:002010-02-07T06:37:19-05:00Some mornings can seem rather cold and uninviting. But compared to yesterday morning? Not so much. Snowmageddon, Snowpacolypse, snOMG!, pick-your-nickname-for-the-blizzard, hit Washington DC on Friday night and looks like it has shut us down at least through today and possibly tomorrow. Somewhere north of 2 feet of snow fell in our yard between Friday afternoon and Saturday evening with 30 odd inches being reported in the suburbs just north of DC. Heavy, wet snow took out trees and power lines around the region, leaving tens of thousands without electricity on Saturday. All three regional airports had canceled all flights by mid-day Saturday; Amtrak shut down most trains in and out off DC, and Metro canceled bus service and above ground rail service. For the first time in 30 years, the Post Office took a snow day. (more) Harris Teeter stayed open . . . We watched a steady stream of...studiojmmhttp://puddle-jumping.com/2010/02/snowmageddon-2010.htmlHappy Holidaystag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c638753ef01287685478f970c2009-12-27T12:20:29-05:002009-12-27T12:27:13-05:00Two long drives, lots of kid-cousins, playing, laughing, eating, and merry-making, and many, many presents later, we're back in DC thinking we could probably use a week off to recover from our week off. Hope your holidays were/are happy. Snow on Mom Mom's deck, originally uploaded by Studiojmm.studiojmmhttp://puddle-jumping.com/2009/12/happy-holidays.htmlOn small children and very small parrotstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c638753ef012875c1c36f970c2009-11-21T07:58:40-05:002009-11-21T07:58:40-05:00Bug loves, loves, loves peanuts. The sound of the jar being opened elicits excited chirps and happy dances followed by frantic chirps and pacing if a peanut does not materialize quickly enough. If Bug is out of her cage, do not expect to open a peanut jar in peace. This is something she and Maya have in common. Mac never read the increasingly common advice not to give children peanuts until they are three. And since Daddy likes to snack on peanuts, Maya has been eating them since early in her 2nd year. Consequently, both toddler and parrotlet answer the call of the peanut jar: "chirp, chirp" "Want some." Maya solicits a cookie from Amanda during our trip to London.studiojmmhttp://puddle-jumping.com/2009/11/on-small-children-and-very-small-parrots.htmlSaving money through green means: Enjoy the ridetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c638753ef0120a6577a23970b2009-11-05T23:44:05-05:002009-11-05T23:44:05-05:00According to the U.S. Census Bureau 2.3 percent of commuter trips in Washington DC are by bicycle. This whoops a truly pathetic national average of 0.55 percent, and I'm proud to be a part of it. According to Bay Area Bikes bike to work calculator, I saved $8.28 by not driving and saved the earth 19.4 lbs of toxic emissions over the course of my 20 mile round trip ride from the home to work and back. Now, I wouldn't have driven if I hadn't biked because both my home and office are very Metro-accessible, but I definitely saved $5.70 in Metro fare. One of the nice things about my new job is that it is very bike friendly with a secure bicycle room and a locker room with showers. I love that I get a good workout on the way to work and it's a very pretty commute, actually....studiojmmhttp://puddle-jumping.com/2009/11/saving-money-through-green-means-enjoy-the-ride.htmlMusings on Timetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c638753ef0120a65423d8970b2009-11-04T17:12:55-05:002009-11-04T17:12:55-05:00Mac got home yesterday evening complaining about the unusual amount of traffic he had encountered on his way back from Towson. He asked what time I needed to leave to make it to my yoga class, I answered, 6:30 for a 6:45 class. By 6:25, I was running late, as usual, and at 6:35 tore out of the house for the brief ride over to the studio. Upon entering, I noticed two things: this was not the usual instructor and she had already started. I pulled off my shoes and left them and my bike helmet on the shelf in the entryway, prepped my other things for easy stashing on the studio shelf, made some comment to the receptionist about someday being on time, and slipped into the studio. I rolled out my mat at the back of the class and took a few moments to settle before joining in....studiojmmhttp://puddle-jumping.com/2009/11/musings-on-time.html